Holder for credit card purchase form

ABSTRACT

The holder has a generally planar base with a rectangular, flatsurfaced portion on which a credit card purchase form is held for signature by the customer. The form is held in place by the clamping action between a pair of fingers, spaced above the flatsurfaced portion to accommodate one end of the form, and a depressible tab positioned between the fingers and normally biased towards the fingers. The fingers and tab are formed as an integral part of the base. The customer&#39;&#39;s credit card is prominently held in the vertical position in an arcuate slot in the base for its return to him. The base also includes an integral, lateral extension on which point-of-purchase advertising or similar indicia, which is readily observable by the customer when signing the form, can be mounted.

United States Patent 91 Hunt [ 1 June 26, 1973 [75] Inventor: Vernon J.Hunt, Glendale, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Display Corporation International, Milwaukee, Wis.

[22] Filed: July 23, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 165,500

[52] US. Cl. 40/13 [51] Int. Cl. G09! 3/16 [58] Field of Search 40/13;281/15, 45; 206/57 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,030,9224/1962 Rosenthal 281/45 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 282,698 9/1928Great Britain 281/15 B Primary Examiner-Russell R. Kinsey AssistantExaminer-J. Q. Lever Attorney-John W. Michael, Joseph A. Gemigani et al[5 7] ABSTRACT The holder has a generally planar base with arectangular, flat-surfaced portion on which a credit card purchase formis held for signature by the customer. The form is held in place by theclamping action between a pair of fingers, spaced above theflat-surfaced portion to accommodate one end of the form, and adepressible tab positioned between the fingers and normally biasedtowards the fingers. The fingers and tab are formed as an integral partof the base. The customers credit card is prominently held in thevertical position in an arcuate slot in the base for its return to him.The base also includes an integral, lateral extension on whichpointof-purchase advertising or similar indicia, which is readilyobservable by the customer when signing the form, can be mounted.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENIEDJUHZS I975 3.740.877

$5] nw W a l/array HOLDER FOR CREDIT CARD PURCHASE FORM BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION Service stations and other similar merchandisers commonlyuse some means, such as a clip board, for holding a credit card purchaseform on which the customers purchase is itemized. The clip board holdsthe form in place and provides a sufficient writing surface supportingthe form so that the customer can conveniently sign it, e.g., whileseated in his automobile. The form is usually held on a flat board orpanel by a spring clip. The customers credit card is held by the clipholding the form or held by a separate clip on the board for its returnto the customer or is separately handed to the customer by the attendantor salesclerk.

Generally, holders of this type are quite cumber some. Also, theseparate clip means are relatively expensive and require assembly to theboard which increases the cost for making such devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of this invention is toprovide a simple, inexpensive holder which is capable of holding both acredit card purchase form for the customers signature and the customerscredit card for its return to him.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a holder whichincludes means for mounting indieia readily observable by the customer,such as point-ofpurchase advertising.

The holder of this invention includes a generally planar, unitary basewhich has a flat-surfaced portion on which a credit card purchase formis frictionally held. The form is frictionally held in place between thespaced edges a pair of laterally extending fingers above theflat-surfaced portion to accommodate one end of the form and adepressible tab, which is positioned between the fingers and is normallybaised towards the fingers. The fingers and tab are formed as anintegral part of the base. In one embodiment, the tab includes a raisedshoulder which acts both as a convenient means for the user to depressthe tab for installation or removal of a form and as a stop to insureproper positioning of the form on the flat-surfaced portion.

An arcuate slot in the base provides a means for prominently holding thecustomer's credit card in a vertical position where he is readilyreminded to remove it when the holder is handed to him for signature ofthe form. A lateral ear extending from the base provides a convenientmeans for handling a holder. The base can also include a lateral sideextension on which point-of-purchase advertising or similar indieia,which is readily observable by the customer, can be mounted.

By arranging the means for holding the form in place as an integral partof the base (i.e. the fingers and tab) in accordance with thisinvention, the holder can be made as a one-piece construction fromlightweight plastic materials by conventional molding techniques. Thus,inexpensive materials and fabrication techniques which do not requireassembly steps can be employed, thereby reducing production costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of aholder embodying this invention shown holding a credit card, a creditcard purchase form, a writing implement and point-ofpurchaseadvertising.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational, cross-sectional view taken along the planedesignated 2-2.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the plane designated 3-3 showingthe depressible tab in the normally biased position when a credit cardpurchase form is not installed. I

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The holder of this invention isan integral unit molded from a suitable lightweight plastic material andhas a generally planar base 10. Base 10 includes a rectangular recess 12arranged to receive a credit card purchase form 14. Form 14 is aconventional credit card purchase form including a top sheet and anunderlying sheet with an interposed sheet of carbon paper. The top sheethas perforations l6 spaced from the edge of one end so it can beconveniently torn off and handed to the customer as a receipt after hissignature. Recess 12 has a smooth flat top surface which provides awriting surface.

Base 10 includes an integral depressible tab, coextensive with andgenerally extending laterally from the recess. As shown in FIG. 3, thelongitudinal axis of tab 18 is arranged at a slight angle with respectto the base so it is normally biased to a slightly raised position. Base10 also includes a pair of integral, laterallyextending fingers 20 whichare spaced above recess 12 so that the form can he slipped underneaththem when tab 18 has been depressed as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When tab20 is released and returns towards its normal position after theinsertion of a form, the end of the form with the perforations (the leftend as viewed in FIG. 1) is clamped between the tab and fingers and,thus, is held firmly in place within the recess. Tab 18 includes araised shoulder 22 so the user can conveniently press the tab with histhumb or a finger for the installation or removal of a form. Shoulder 22also acts as a stop to insure proper positioning of the form withrespect to fingers 20 so that the top sheet can be torn away while theremainder of the form is held in place. When a form is installed intorecess 12, the end is abutted against shoulder 22 and, upon release ofthe tab, only the portion of the form between the edge and theperforations is clamped between the tab and fingers. Thus, the top sheetcan be torn away along the perforations without removing the form fromthe holder. The end of the recess opposite the tab is provided with acut out portion 24, over which the end of the form extends, tofacilitate separation of the top sheet from the remainder of the formfor tearing.

The customerscredit card 26 is prominently held in the vertical positionin an arcuate slot 28 provided in the base so the customer will readilynotice it and remember to remove it when the holder is handed him.Flange 30 extending upwardly from the base behind the installed creditcard aids in supporting it in a vertical position when the holder isbeing handled. A ball point pen 34, pencil or similar writing implementis conveniently carried in an aperture 36 provided in the base for useby the customer for signing the form. A laterally extending ear 38coextensive and integral with the base provides a convenient means forhandling the holder. Base 10 also includes a recessed, lateral extension40 on which point-of-purchase advertising 42 or similar indieia can bemounted.

From the above detailed description, it can be seen that this inventionprovides a simple arrangement for a holder capable of holding a creditcard purchase form. Since the holder is an integral unit, the expense ofseparate spring clips and the cost of their assembly are eliminated. Theholder also includes simple means for prominently holding the customerscredit card so he is reminded to remove it and means for mountingpointof-purchase advertising or other similar indicia which are readilyobservable by the customer.

I claim:

1. A device for holding a form for itemizing purchases comprising agenerally planar base having a flat-surfaced portion over which saidform extends; a tab formed integrally with said base and locatedadjacent to one end of said flat-surfaced portion,

means formed integrally with said base adjacent said one end of saidflat-surfaced portion and defining an opening in general registry withsaid tab,

said tab having a normal position projecting toward said opening andhaving a generally resilient connection with said base, said tab beingexposed at said one end of said flat-surfaced portion to be engaged andmoved away from said opening and returning to said normal position whenthe moving force is removed, and

said tab, when in said normal position, defining with the edges of saidopening a generally tortuous path for one end of a form extendingbetween said tab and said opening so that said form is frictionally heldbetween said tab and edges.

2. The device according to claim 1 including a pair of lateral fingersformed integrally with said base adjacent said one end of saidflatsurfaced portion and being spaced apart defining said opening andproviding said edges, said fingers being spaced above said flat-surfacedportion to accommodate one end of said form; and

said tab is depressible to move away from said open- 3. Tie deviceaccording to claim 2 wherein said tab includes a raised shoulder againstwhich one end of said form is abutted, after said tab is moved to permitinstallation of said end of said form between said tab and said fingers,to insure proper positioning of said form on said flat-surfaced portion.

4. The device according to claim 1 including an extension formedintegrally with and extending laterally from one side of said base onwhich indicia means can be mounted.

5. The device according to claim 1 including an ear, formed integrallywith and extending laterally from said base, as a means for grasping andhandling said device.

6. The device according to claim 5 including an aperture for holding awriting implement.

7. The device according to claim 1 wherein said base includes an arcuateslot located adjacent to said flatsurfaced portion in which a customerscredit card can be prominently held in a vertical position.

1. A device for holding a form for itemizing purchases comprising agenerally planar base having a flat-surfaced portion over which saidform extends; a tab formed integrally with said base and locatedadjacent to one end of said flat-surfaced portion, means formedintegrally with said base adjacent said one end of said flat-surfacedportion and defining an opening in general registry with said tab, saidtab having a normal position projecting toward said opening and having agenerally resilient connection with said base, said tab being exposed atsaid one end of said flat-surfaced portion to be engaged and moved awayfrom said opening and returning to said normal position when the movingforce is removed, and said tab, when in said normal position, definingwith the edges of said opening a generally tortuous path for one end ofa form extending between said tab and said opening so that said form isfrictionally held between said tab and edges.
 2. The device according toclaim 1 including a pair of lateral fingers formed integrally with saidbase adjacent said one end of said flat-surfaced portion and beingspaced apart defining said opening and providing said edges, saidfingers being spaced above said flat-surfaced portion to accommodate oneend of said form; and said tab is depressible to move away from saidopening.
 3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said tab includes araised shoulder against which one end of said form is abutted, aftersaid tab is moved to permit installation of said end of said formbetween said tab and said fingers, to insure proper positioning of saidform on said flat-surfaced portion.
 4. The device according to claim 1including an extension formed integrally with and extending laterallyfrom one side of said base on which indicia means can be mounted.
 5. Thedevice according to claim 1 including an ear, formed integrally with andextending laterally from said base, as a means for grasping and handlingsaid device.
 6. The device according to claim 5 including an aperturefor holding a writing implement.
 7. The device according to claim 1wherein said base includes an arcuate slot located adjacent to saidflat-surfaced portion in which a customer''s credit card can beprominently held in a vertical position.